Knighton hit Griffin with such force, that the quarterback came off the ground and planted his left knee awkwardly as he fell backward. He immediately clutched the knee and was attended to by trainers.

That is not the knee that Griffin has spent the past 10 months recupperating from after having surgery. Still, with one knee already in a brace and another in obvious pain, it is disconcerting.

In typical Griffin fashion, he dismissed the medical staff as much as he could as headed to the sideline, then hopped off the medical table after only a few minutes. It appeared as if he wanted to re-enter the game, which would have been a ludicrous decision at that point. Griffin was cleared to play, according to reports, but coach Mike Shanahan held him out because of the game situation.

The game was well out of hand, and only got worse after backup Kirk Cousins came in and threw a pick-six. The Broncos went on to win 45-21. Griffin completed 15 of 30 passes for 132 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

Now, drama can be anticipated in Washington, where RG3's defiance led to a return that was probably too soon.